Big thick and tall, creamy to foamy light tan head, billowing like a giant fist off the pour and quite uniform in bubbles. Body color is very dark and nearly brown but goes to deep bronze red and just can see through it. Edges provide lots of lighter red and orange color, but bleeds like blood. Just creeping, slow, and small rising carbonation. Great looking brew.

Real neat aroma. Dank hints, a sort of mix of juiced garlic roasted sweet onion notes and faint fruit somewhat indistinct senses, kind of tangerine citrus barely. Somewhat complimenting, but not getting in each others way too much. Goes to hop smoke aromas also which is real nice. This I think could be off putting for some but I am enjoying it nicely.

Palate is just... uh... WOW... this is so thick and juiced with coating sugars. Pure icing sugar like feel. Thick brown sugar malt sweetness and practically like drinking hop maple syrup and thick toffee caramel. Palate brings some more big fruit notes, but the caramel sweetness takes over in an impressive way. Finishes with dank qualities, and big almost cherry and raspberry fruit pie like finish. Mild bitterness, just a bit sugary.

Overall this is really impressive and different from nose to palate. REally not what I was expecting making it that more impressive. It is however, just a bit too sweet, and it takes over from the hop aroma and flavors just a little too much. But dang this is going to drink fast.

A very hearty and robust caramel color meets the eye with a bubbly thick foam head.

The nose is exquisite with lemon, watermelon, grapefruit and tangerine. The caramel malt back bone is obvious but not intruding.

The flavors are diverse and intense with fruity and herbal hop characters and a malty backbone. Lemon, watermelon(which is unusual), tangerines and grapefruit meet a musky herbal hop tone. The malt has barley, caramel and cola nut flavors as well to support a deeply complex beer.

This drinks with superior smoothness and a deceptively refreshing feel.

Grab a bottle every time I see it available! Poured from a 22oz bottle into a Lost Abbey teku.

A: Deep amber, almost ruby hue topped by a light tan head. Even after having this beer multiple times it is still slightly off putting seeing an ipa this dark. Despite its non-conformity still a good looking beer.

T: Sweet tropical fruits and bitter pine followed by rich caramel sweetness. The malt character really accentuates the tropical aspect as the sweetness couples with the hops nicely. Bitter finish with a hint of warming alcohol.

M: Medium bodied for your average beer, but viscous for an ipa. Average carbonation.

O: This was the first DIPA I ever truly loved a few years ago,and it's easy to see why. While this amount of malt character in an ipa is now usually a detriment to a beer IMO, Bootleggers does a fantastic job of pairing a hefty malt sweetness with aggressive hop character in this one. The result is a beer that is far from the standard dry DIPAs with little to no malt character, but still an exceptionally balanced and well crafted brew. Love it!

T: Much, much better than the nose. This one hits and hits hard. Hops are hugely sweet. Tons of stone fruit, tropical fruit. Spruce and pine and lemon peel on the end. Huge maltiness helps to accentuate the tropical hit. Sweetness is borderline cloying, but the bitterness pops in at the last second to balance it out. Fruitiness of the hops comes back into play in the finish. Very, very fruity finish. Not terribly dry.

M: Very light bodied for the crazy high abv. No alcohol detected whatsoever.

O: Not your dry west coast IPA. Way too malty for my taste, but the quality is there.

Oily, slick and coating, this has a medium full feel with moderate carbonation. Juicy, bitter hops and sweet malts linger in the finish.

A DIPA that's right up my alley. I'm quite fond of the juicy, tropical, citrusy West coast style hops with a bold malt sweetness that can't be ignored. With no bottling date I can't be sure but the hop aromas/ flavors are bright enough that my guess is this is pretty fresh and I can see how freshness would have a huge impact on someone's perception of this. Either way, I truly enjoyed the bottle I was given and would happliy drink it again anytime.

22oz bottle. Pours a reddish brown color with a half inch of head. Quite the interesting color for an IPA. Lots of lacing. The aroma is lots of tropical fruits. Mango, guava, pineapple and sweet grapefruit. The taste is much like the aroma. Juicy tropical fruits with some piney hops. Some caramel malts as well. Pineapple and warming alcohol at the finish. Creamy, heavy mouthfeel. Pretty bitter Imperial with lots of tropical fruit flavor. The 10% ABV is very present but it still drinks easily. Overall, oustanding Imperial IPA I hope to have again.

A: Pours a deep golden amber with a thick and greasy tan head that faded into an oily collar that left strings of thick lace down the glass.
S: Super fresh a potent scent of citrus medley coupled with tropical fruit nectars, flower gardens and perfume. Tropical fruits are sweet and mix well with an onslaught of grapefruit, orange zest, sweet ripe tangerines and clementines. Flowery perfume pokes through the mix as well.
T: Bitter yet smooth notes of grapefruit pith, tangerine juice, orange rind, and sweet passion fruit, mango and papaya. Notes of flowers and sweet fruit nectars bring up the finish, and the aftertaste is tingly and sweet with a slight note or two of the base malt. Sweet tropical fruits linger long after the swallow.
M: Thick and heavy mouthfeel, syrupy but not overly oily, greasy, or sweet. Carbonation is tingly and smooth, with a chewy body and extremely well hidden alcohol.
O: Impressive nose, impressive tastes, very impressive mouthfeel. Drinks like a beer half the ABV. More than just a citrus bomb in taste, there is plenty of other hop profiles layered in the flavors. Nose is phenomenal, I definitely enjoyed this one.

It's hard for me to give this beer a true ranking and review as it's been so inconsistent. It used to be something I really sought out but it seems to be less and less delicious every time I try it. I thought it was just me but the other night I ordered one and commented that it was better than last time but still not what it once was. The bartender shrugged and said, "tell me about it. I hear that every time we get a keg."
Its a good beer even a very good beer but it was once a great beer.

I have very strong recollections of the searing hop aromas and flavors that dominate my nose and mouth from the time I lift the glass until a minute after I gulp. The resinous pine and tropical notes are still there but just not a pronounced as I vividly recall.

Carbonation and mouthfeel are still really good.

I'll keep drinking it and hope that this latest upswing is a sign of things to come from my boys at Bootleggers.

Um, I'm not really sure what Bootleggers is trying to go with here. Very copper and East Coast in color like a R Kelly remix; still, the aroma is lush with West Coast tropical fruits like R Kelly walked out of the closet and made a smoothie. It's slightly sticky (which Raul likes) buts it's a bit sugary like a factory made dessert at your local elementary school.

I don't know... it's perplexing. I like it, but like a David Lynch film, jump in and get ready for a varied result.

Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy caramel color. About 1/2" of off white head forms on the pour, which has good retention decent lacing. Pretty good looking IPA all in all.

Smell: A definitive caramel malt backbone is apparent, which is a good thing because of the heavy dose of citrus that follows. Not getting a whole lot else aside from that, but there is more than enough flavor packed in with just those two scents to make up for lack of complexity.

Taste: Mirrors the smell. Very prevalent caramel malts that makes the beer a bit sweet for me. The hops are a blast of 100% citrus. A bit overdone, and just adds right on to the sweetness that is already there. Still a good IPA with tons of flavor, but I could do with a bit more subtlety.

Mouthfeel/Overall: Medium body with moderate carbonation. Pretty solid feel, but not the most drinkable IPA due to the ABV and flavor spectrum. Overall, I found this beer to be pretty good all in all, but it falls into the "just okay" category for me. Many other Cali IPAs that I prefer over this.

Thanks to StonedRaider for another outstanding trade! Pours a beautiful golden amber with a thick white head. Decent retention with nice lacing. Aroma of peaches, tropical fruit notes, whiff of citrus, with a hint of cat pee. Bitter throughout the palate with lots of peach, pine resin and caramel notes from the solid malt backbone. Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Overall, a very underrated DIPA, outstanding fruity bitterness. Great job Bootleggers!

Had this (along with other dipa's) at a East VS. West Dipa Head to Head Showdown I hosted on 8/27/13

Got this one via trade... a great beer...

Round 2 East DFH 90 West Knuckle Sandwich

Overall I picked 90 over this one but this was no easy battle. Quite honestly this was the hardest choice of all the rounds... it was a split decision with 90 winning appearance and mouthfeel but not by much.. color for me went to ks along with taste and smell. Ks was a hell of a lot smoother and easy going with a nice juicy feel to it. I'm glad I have a little left over to enjoy abooouuuut... now! Ks placed 8th of 10

Taste: Definitely much more citrus than pine in the taste. Tropical, fruity, and sweet. I do get a lot of the malt backbone in this one. I'm digging this one! Bitterness is subdued by the overall sweetness I believe.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and creamy feel. Mild bitterness and has that sticky sweetness to it.

Honestly, I don't know what all the hubbub about this beer is. I was pretty disappointed. Best thing about this is the way it looks, a deep dark amber with the fluffiest head I have ever seen. Smell was lots of grapefruit but muddied and sweet. Taste wasn't too far behind. Sweet molasses, orange, caramel, mango and very yeasty. Very heavy and syrupy. This was thick, sticky, sweet, and hard to drink, and the hops seemed distant. The only thing I can think is that I got a bum bottle that wasn't fresh. I am willing to try this again if I could guarantee the freshness but as it stands, a pass for me.

burnt orange candy color. very minimal head.
grapefruit and pine in the nose.
grapefruit and pine in the taste. smooth and bitter at the same time.
Pliny on tap all day yesterday. Knuckle sandwich today. life is good. hear lots of people comparing this Knuckle Sandwich to Pliny; they're trying to compliment the Bootlegger brew and the similarities are in the smoothness. Pliny is a little more balanced, but this one is far off. this one has a little more sticky syrup-y kind of to it. overall, very decent and nice abv....

deep dark orange. Perfect one finger of thick head. Nose is predominantly grapefruit, with a bit of spicy hop notes and pine. It’s the grapefruit that’s dominant though. Medium body. Decent malt character, but this one is all about the hops. First two thirds on the palette is fruity hop flavor, grapefruit rind and maybe peach. Back third is pleasant bittering. A great beer

Knuckle sandwich provides a great amount of hops that brings a smooth taste which lingers for a great 10 second ordeal. HIGHLY UNDERATED.Finding this beer is a true treasure as every liquor store in CA seems to sell it within days of stock. If you get the chance to try this brew, you are lucky. This is Bootleggers masterpiece, it is considerably comparable to Pliny the elder. I would never pass a knuckle sandwich up. "All 78 bottles sold within 3 days of restock" says liquor store owners.

At double digits for ABV I was skeptical considering the prevalence of double IPAs at breweries recently that have overpowering sweetness from unfermented sugars. That was not the case with this beer, great hop character initially on the nose and mouth, then finished clean, crisp, and strong. Overall lots of hops, body, and of course alcohol. Knuckle Sandwich is probably about as balanced as this can get since any aging would negatively affect the rich, fresh hop nose and make the beer more bitter than desired.

It's great to see how often Bootlegger's rotates through different beer styles at their brewery and a wide range of 22 oz bottle offerings can be found throughout Orange County.

Awesome extra in a recent trade. Pours a hazy, mahogany color with a small, off-white head that disappears quickly. Scent is packed with tropical fruit, citrus hops, and more tropical aromas. Has a very sweet aroma with a pretty heavy malt backbone. The aroma is very nice on this one. Taste is interesting. It starts off with some lovely tropical fruit flavors...it kinda gets messy here. Flavor is VERY boozy and sweet. And it's very hard to get over this stage... The hops seem to have been very mute in this beer, and the booze and sweetness take over. I'm really hoping this is just an old or bad bottle, because I've heard great things and been wanting to try this for a very long time. Mouthfeel is nicely carbonated and slightly sticky. Drinkability is not very high. Overall, pretty disappointed in this one. Way too sweet and boozy. I can handle sweet and boozy IPAs if the hops are there to back it up, but they just weren't there. Wish they put dates on their bottles so I could see if this was just a really old bottle.

Redundant thanks again to Kyle2k10 for a trade that is reaching epidemic proportions, & knocking this long-time want off my list. 22 oz. bottle split with my wife.

First, nice bottle art...then the pour, which is lively, orange, & looks like is has hops, malt, & water. Orange, filtered, middling clear. Nose is promising, pine, grapefruit, with a backing band of light, sweet fruits.

Knuckle Sandwich is...balanced. Stingers of caramel come out of the firehose with bruising force. The pine & grapefruit in the nose comes through, but it's held down by the malts. Waves of sweet follow; a slow, moderate, lingering bitterness rounds the beer off. I'll give its due for being easy drinking, this is a beer of mass destruction.

A very good beer; a little less balance & heavier hand on the hops would have pushed this skyward easily. So close to great in this mouth. But, heck, I'd never turn one down.

Pours more red than I had expected, but still within that amber range. call it amber rose (what up Wiz Khalifa!). Minimal almond meat head that dissipates for the most part but leaves a little ring around the rosie edge. A rich, deep hue (a couple of years ago I would have made a Raiders joke out of that).

Nose is a little underwhelming. Earthy with some floral sweetness to it. Not unappetizing, just doesn't give a full preview of the deliciousness lying in wait. Some caramel.

Flavour is where this beer really shines. Hops are certainly front and center, kind of a blend/cycle between floral/grapefruit citrus/piney. A touch of caramel sweet on the back end.

Reallly drinkable. Medium bodied. If this were available in my area (and for a reasonable price), I'd drink it very often. If you like well crafted west coast IPAs, it's certainly worth getting your hands on.

Smells of sweet piney hops, woody grassy grapefruit and pineapple notes abound. Some caramel candy and brown bread. The smell blends so well into the taste that you almost need both to complete it. Pine and peppery grassy bitter grapefruit merges with the caramel creamy malts. There's a sweet stickiness that helps round it all out.

Mouthfeel is definitely round, chewy, and sticky.

Overall, this is a fantastic example of a west coast double ipa. Nothing by itself about this beer is perfect but put together the smells, tastes and mouth feel and all of a sudden it becomes complete.